This invention relates in general to devices for measuring the angular inclination of various components in a vehicular drive train system and in particular to an adapter for facilitating the use of such devices.
Vehicle drive train systems typically include a transmission having an output shaft connected through an elongated drive shaft to an input shaft of an axle assembly. Because of constraints imposed by the overall design of the vehicle, these shafts are rarely aligned such that their axes of rotation are co-axial. To accommodate this, and further to permit a small amount of relative movement to occur between the transmission and the axle assembly resulting from movement of the suspension system of the vehicle and flexing of the vehicle frame during use, universal joints are usually provided between the transmission output shaft and the forward end of the drive shaft and between the rearward end of the drive shaft and the axle assembly input shaft. The universal joints permit the axes of rotation of the adjacent shafts to be angularly disposed, while providing a rotational driving connection therebetween.
The angular relationships between the transmission output shaft, the drive shaft, and the axle assembly input shaft are important factors in the proper operation of the drive train system. If the axes between these components are too large, or if the angle between the transmission output shaft and the forward end of the drive shaft is not equal to the angle between the rearward end of the drive shaft and the axle assembly input shaft, torsional vibrations may be induced. Such vibrations can cause undesirable noise and, if not corrected, premature wear and failure of the components of the vehicle drive train system, including the transmission, the axle assembly, and the universal joints.
Accordingly, devices have been provided for measuring the angular disposition of these drive train components to determine the angular relationship therebetween. One such device is the Anglemaster.RTM. inclinometer sold by Dana Corporation, the assignee of this invention. When disposed in abutting relationship against a component of the drive train, the inclinometer measures the slope thereof relative to the horizontal. The angular disposition between two adjacent components in the drive train system can be determined by measuring the relative slopes of the individual components using the inclinometer. The difference between the two slope measurements constitutes the angular disposition between the two components.
Unfortunately, the drive train components are usually located beneath the vehicle in locations which are often partially obstructed by other portions of the vehicle. Furthermore, depending upon rotational orientation of the various drive train shafts when the vehicle is parked, access to the components against which the inclinometer must be placed may also be restricted by other portions of the vehicle. Thus, in order to facilitate the taking of the measurements, it is known to provide an adapter for use with the inclinometer. While known adapters have been useful in many situations, it has not been well suited for use in certain drive train assemblies, particularly those in which full round end yokes are used in the universal joints. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved adapter which is easily used on these types of drive train components.